Pardee, UNC Health extend management agreement

Thursday

Apr 25, 2013 at 4:30 AM

The management agreement between Pardee Hospital and UNC Health Care System was extended an additional 15 years Wednesday in an effort to protect the small community hospital from “storms on the horizon,” Pardee Hospital President and CEO Jay Kirby said.

By JOEY MILLWOODTimes-News Staff Writer

The management agreement between Pardee Hospital and UNC Health Care System was extended an additional 15 years Wednesday in an effort to protect the small community hospital from “storms on the horizon,” Pardee Hospital President and CEO Jay Kirby said. Officials with Pardee, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners and UNC Health Care signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement to extend the relationship during a meeting at the hospital Wednesday. The move provides a layer of protection for the hospital in uncertain times, Kirby said. “It’s a tremendous step for the future of Pardee Hospital,” he said after the announcement was made. “There are storms on the horizon. The storms are coming from Washington. They’re coming out of Raleigh. They’re very political in nature.”This agreement takes the politics out of the situation in Henderson County, he added.The deal, which commissioners unanimously voted to approve Wednesday, also extends the lease for the hospital land and building between Pardee and the county to 25 years. Bill Moyer, chairman of the hospital board, estimated that there were around 10 years left on the original agreement.The biggest change, however, is the makeup of the hospital board. Currently, all 11 members are appointed by the commissioners. The board will increase to 15 members under the revised agreement, and commissioners will have three direct appointments. UNC Health Care will also have three. The hospital board will recommend a slate of five members to UNC. If UNC decides not to appoint those members, then the board and the commissioners will come up with new names. The remaining four voting members will be Kirby, Pardee Chief of Staff Dr. Ed Lilly, UNC Health Care President and CEO Gary Park, and the county commissioner who serves on the board. Currently that commissioner is Mike Edney. “It’s more of a shared control than in the past,” Edney said. “It’s a true partnership.”Kirby agreed. The CEO said he likes the different perspectives that the new board format, which could begin July 1, will bring. The board will be determined by those elected by the people, the expertise at UNC and members of the Pardee medical staff, he said. Each board member will be appointed and placed on staggering terms.“It is diverse, but it also brings diverse perspectives,” Kirby said.SUBHED Under the agreement, UNC Health Care will have much more input at Pardee, Moyer said. If Pardee needs money for an investment or equipment or other needs, UNC Health Care has the option to help. That investment will bring equity interest for UNC Health Care, which can’t exceed 49 percent, Moyer said. Henderson County will maintain the majority ownership in the hospital. Pardee Hospital and UNC Health Care entered into a 10-year management agreement in June 2011. UNC Health Care has already helped Pardee in its first two years, Moyer said, especially in the area of information systems. He said UNC Health Care also played a vital in role in Pardee being able to offer Aetna insurance. “They bring the weight,” he said.The most important thing, Moyer said, is that now UNC Health Care and Pardee can look at the big picture further down the road — at the storms Kirby sees on the horizon. “They can think in a much bigger scope, which is what we have to do,” Moyer said.And County Manager Steve Wyatt praised the commissioners for their forward thinking. “You have to give a lot of credit to the county commissioners for recognizing the challenges the county hospital faces in the days to come and for meeting these challenges head-on,” he said. The real winners, Commission Chairman Charlie Messer said, weren’t in the crowd of doctors, hospital administrators and commissioners gathered for the announcement Wednesday. “I’m very excited,” he said. “Everybody wins with this, but especially the people of Henderson County.”Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.

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